SENIOR MEMBER

It looks like something out of a semi-futuristic post-apocalypse movie: A hybrid of traditional weaponry with digital scopes attached and the ability to morph from a rifle into a shotgun into a grenade launcher.

Except it’s the next generation of armed warfare, improved with lessons from Afghanistan and other recent incursions — and it’s as Canadian as maple syrup.

It’s still a prototype, so it’s a long way from being in the field, but the new “smart gun” being developed with Colt Canada could one day replace the C7, the standard military weapon that’s almost identical to the M16 everyone knows from the movies.

Since 2008, the Department of National Defence, through Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC), has loaded $7.3 million into the firearm.

“This exploratory work has allowed DRDC to investigate innovative technologies and other issues, such as ergonomics. Such work will allow the military to identify the most desired future weapon features,” a spokesperson in National Defence Minister Jason Kenney’s office said.

The final product will be lighter than the C7 and include features that will allow for communications between the weapon and a command base. A second iteration is expected to include features to help soldiers identify military targets from civilians. Digital scopes could calculate the wind and other factors to improve accuracy.

“In the medium term, this weapon concept represents a lethal, flexible general-purpose platform,” said Lt-Col Serge Lapointe of the Canadian Army said in a DRDC release. “It will be able to operate in all theatres of operations in the most complex terrain including urban areas, mountains, jungles, deserts and the Arctic.”

The “smart gun” will put more tools in soldiers’ hands, but it’s unlikely computers will ever replace humans hands on the trigger. And unlike the more common use of “smart gun,” which commonly means a weapon with digital tools that would prevent the wrong person from firing it, this rifle-cum-grenade launcher is more about giving soldiers more reliable information and helping to make decisions about who and what to attack.

As great as a self-aiming gun might sound – imagine being able to guarantee you won’t hit a school beside a target with a grenade? – it’s not as simple as pointing and letting the robots take over.

“We have to be very cautious about allowing computers to make decisions about what the target is…. It can aid the soldiers, but we have to be aware that computers can make mistakes and you don’t want to be shooting the wrong person,” said Walter Dorn, a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College and the Royal Military College of Canada.

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I think a computer could malfunction and hit the wrong target and, it would be needed to see how it works as well and also it will need to be watched and made sure it is working as well. Soldiers will still need to keep an eye on it and also, learn how it works as well and be alert when handling it as a wrong move could be bad for the group. It will be interesting to see how reliable as well and also it will not be fully trusted as computers can get viruses or digital problems.

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I like the last paragraph, you can really tell why he's an expert can't you? "you don't want to be shooting the wrong person" that's good advice! Haha

As far as weapons go, the days of the hand grenade and bayonet is long gone and warfare will become more and more long range. Computers picking out targets is nothing new and technology is constantly advancing so I think this will be the start of a long line of similar weapons in the coming years.

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The gun sounds really awesome! However, its opening a whole can of worms... that we'll never finish cleaning up after. There is a certain "human factor", ( call it instinct, intuition, anything you like.). And the human factor is very necessary when put in a position to take someone's life.

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I am always wary of computers; we all know they can and do crash at times. While there are some great benefits to computers with regards to accuracy, there are also some problems that cothe is be far more catastrophic if something were to go wrong. If the gun can communicate with the base, it can also be hacked. I think we need to always take I to consideration that anything that can be hacked, may be hacked if someone has a motive to do it.

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Well, I think this should me a remarkable news if this "smart gun" takes place in the effective army. Anyway I doubt that this will happen in the near future because the techonlogy of our time is not yet ready for such a big step. On the other hand something similiar already exist I guess: just think about the self-guided rockets that is being used in the war in Syria. Maybe one day we will see something like this applied on guns and rifles too but I really don't think this will happen in short time bacause such weapons has to be tested and tested before being used in a real fight else you might end up hitting the wrong target.

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Many countries have tried similar things, few have succeeded. The French are starting to field their Félin system but even that is far from ideal, it looks great on paper but in reality it has a lot of issues. I'm guessing this canadian one is pretty much the same, that is if it ever gets past the prototype stage. There is a reason USA scrapped their whole land warrior program...

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Very advanced weapons designed for specially trained forces will certainly have a place in the more advanced military forces, but every army will also need highly serviceable weapons for the common soldier. The ideal would be a basic weapon that can be available in special models, perhaps with easily managed add-ons. The U.S. military needs to be designed to rapidly expand, as it did at the beginning of WWII. I hated the draft back in the late 60s, but am now convinced that we need to re-consider having Universal Military Training built into our system. A professional corps supported by a strong reserve force would be far more secure.

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I don't like the idea of a computerized gun on the battle. A computer can malfunction and on the battlefield it is all about reliability and being effective and I would prefer to have a traditional gun.

MEMBER

I'm all in favor of technological advances that provide better and more timely information so that informed decisions can be made, but I definitely wouldn't trust a machine to make decisions as to when or why a trigger should /would be pulled.

MEMBER

I am not a big fan of weapons in general but i like to stay informed and i have to say this is very nice. I admit i never expect nothing less of Canada. A smart gun is an oxymoron of course but still it can be very useful in a crazy and aggressive world that we live. It would be better if they gave all that money for starving children in Africa or elsewhere but i understand it a necessary move. The features of the gun are impressive and if they manage to pull it through it will be game-changing innovation.

MEMBER

A rifle, a shotgun, a grenade launcher... all in one. I can imagine that it is a precision rifle that can be used by assassins and a shotgun to shoot birds maybe and then a grenade launcher that would bring chaos to an auditorium full of people. What a wonderful killing device. But Canada had just declared that it is pulling out their air support to the allied force against ISIS. So what is the use of that weapon of the future? Maybe a good display in the modern museum of violence.